Final Moments
by Dragon Trainer
Summary: This is a series of oneshots centering around a single moment in time that would forever change the lives of the cast of Avatar. Forewarning .. Character death & lots of Angsty!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine, and though I wish it was so … I don't get any money from this. Thus … no suing please, because you will get exactly what I got … nothing.

**Final Moment**

By Dragon TRAINER

I never thought it would hurt this much. The searing pain … the sicken smell of my own flesh as it burns …, and the knowledge that this would be the last time that I would see any of them again. I felt her holding me up … the look in her eyes said more than any words could as she touches my face softly. The only thing cool in this world of heat and pain, and I look up at her and tried to smile. I didn't want to cause her any more pain then what I already saw there. I didn't want her to know how much it hurt … as I felt her hand grab mine, and I return the gesture with a squeeze.

The darkness was slowly starting to spot in front of my eyes as I felt a wave of pain so intense that my breathe hitch in my throat. Tears ran down her face … as she felt my hand tighten upon her own. I didn't want to leave her … I promise to protect her, but it would seem that I could no longer do that now. I felt a weight descend on my chest … it was so heavy and so hard … that I found breathing to be a struggle. My body was shutting down, and there was nothing that I could do about that … as a tear threaten to come to my eyes, but I forced it back. I couldn't … wouldn't leave this world with a tear on my face … I didn't want her last sight to be of me that way. Though … as I started to feel light headed … I had to wonder why that would matter so much.

My body is already beaten and bloody … with one eye closed shut … by the amount of blood that leak from it. Blood ran from my lips, and from my nose, and from the fatal wound on my chest … the place where the heat of the Fire lord has struck home. I wasn't a pleasant sight … at the end, and I knew that she had to take notice of this as well. So what did it matter if I cried … most people would say that I had the right … for I didn't want to leave them. I didn't want to go, and I was so afraid of the end … of the path that seemed now to be the only way to go. Yet, I couldn't spill a tear … instead I clutch on desperately to that hand … as I felt the world start to shift around me, and felt as though … my insides were on fire. It took a few moments for me to realize that the reasoning behind this pain … was the fact that my lungs were no longer gaining air from the world around me. I was suffocating … slowly … as my world dissolve into darkness, and I felt my heart rate slow.

Another hand … a new one touches my forehead, and I knew without any kind of sight whom that person was. Her words always as hard as stone, and her hand seeming to always be dusty … and rough … touches my skin lightly as though trying to comfort me in my last moments. I knew out of everyone … I had hope that she wouldn't make it back in time for this for I was sure that she could feel through the earth around her what was happening to my body and the shortness of my life. The slow beating of my heart … it was a burden to uphold the knowledge, and then … a sudden breeze passes over me … a coolness that went all the way to my soul flowed.

So, he won after all 

I thought as my consciousness slip free of the bonds of my flesh. At least I can take such knowledge with me … that the world will once more return back to its peaceful ways. The threat of the fire nation was gone, and for the time being … the deaths by war will stop. It was a big sigh of relief for me to know that I lasted long enough to know the conclusion of his struggle. I just wished that I could be there to help him put the world back into order. Though … I guess … that I was never destiny to play a part in that …, and if I had lived … I probably would have been bored with it all. Maybe … my death was for the best, besides at least now I knew that someone would keep her safe. I had protected her for as long as I could, and now the job would fall on his shoulders … she would be alright. I knew this … because he loved her, and though she might not realize it yet … she felt the same about him. They would find peace and happiness with each other … I hope as I felt my body shudder one final time.

It was time … no … I wasn't ready … I didn't want to go. There was so much I haven't done … so much that I had never said, but it would seem that I had no choice in the matter as one last struggling breathe escape me. My eyes now closed … never to open again … as my hand lost it's hold on hers and fell limp back to the earth. I was no longer with them …

Then … the darkness completely descent and I found myself being guided by the light. I was leaving this world for the other, and as I near the end of the tunnel … I felt a pair of hands reach out and grab me. Hands that kept me from going any further into the darkness … as the light of one whom shines only in the darkness flow around me.

I turn to look at her. The one whom had taken my heart … the one whom had gone beyond my reach with it. She smiles lightly and hugs me close. Maybe the end wasn't so bad after all, as I turn to stare into her eyes. Those beautiful blue eyes … that sparkle like the stars and her pure white hair that seem to flow on the wind … with a smile that could melt ice. She is the spirit of the moon, but as she held me close … I knew … that I would join her as a star. I would not go to where my mother rest and waits for us … I would stay by her side forever. I guess … that meant that I would see them all again really soon, and though we will never be together again … in the same sense we would never part.

In the Koi pond … another fish appeared. One much smaller than the other two and one that swam side by side with the spirit of the moon. This small fish was silver just like the stars, and though it played no part in the balance … that small fish … always kept the spirit of the moon happy and protected. It had made a promise to protect her …, and this time it would not fail. For though this was goodbye to those he cherish the most … it wasn't a true goodbye .., because he would always be close.

((Well, I hope this was good, and that everyone could figure out whom he was talking about. I know that this is probably pretty OCC, but I have been thinking about this for a while, and just finally got the time to write it.))


	2. Chapter 2

**It wasn't supposed to be this way ….**

The tears course down my face …as I felt the breeze pass over me. I knew without saying who that was …as I turn to see his descent. He landed near me … the worried expression on his face … mixed with the splatters of blood on his face. He had seen death this day, and though he had no part in the Fire Lord's demise … it would affect him all the same. Though at this moment, this thought didn't even cross his mind as he rushes to my side and to his … as he exclaim about his welfare. I felt a stinging sensation in my throat as I tried to answer him without sobbing …he was about to experiences another death today …one much closer and more personal than any he had had to deal with before. Yes, he had seen the skeleton of his mentor and friend, but that was nothing compared to witness their last breathe your-self.

My eyes go back to his broken body, and a sudden jerk … that made new tears come to my eyes. It was over now … he was gone. He knew my answer even before …I said anything and …I could see the tears in his eyes as I turned to look up at him. Worst still, I could see the want to run in them as well …to get away from the pain, and I knew if he tried that …he was going to revert to the Avatar state. With a silent prayer, I place the body of my brother on the ground, and rose to grab a hold of him …to hold him close … as I saw the light of his arrow start to glow. Yet, as I held him close … as he wrap his arms around my waist …the light's glow started to dim and the sobs could be heard above it all. It didn't matter that he was the strongest amongst us …the savior of the world … in the end … he was still the same boy that I freed from the Icecap, and his heart was still too gentle for all of this death and pain. With that said, I held him close …as I let go as well. Tears ran down my face … as sobs rack my body, and I could only wonder in my head over and over again …why did it have to be this way?

Haven't I lost enough when I was young … I never knew my mother, and this war made my father a stranger to me as well. Why did it have to take him too? Why did it have to take my brother, and leave me all alone in the world?

I wanted to shout this to the heavens … as he held me close until I felt so tired …that the tears could no longer run their course. Yet, even when my body no longer had tears to cry …the pain did not subside. The ache in my heart that was much deeper than any wound could be … as I took one last glimpse at his body, and I saw her run her hand down his face. Did she know? Could she feel that his heart no longer beat? That he is gone from our lives, and from our world. It was at a time like this …that I was sort of jealous of her …she never had to see his last breaths. She never had to see his struggle to stay strong even when his body betrayed his intentions in the end. She was blind, and didn't have to see his face. Though …as I saw the tears run down her face …I knew that she wasn't oblivious to the fact that he was gone as well. She knew that he was gone, and as she wipe at her sightless eyes …it would seem that it hurt her just as deeply as my own pain.

I was wrong …she wasn't spared because she couldn't see it.

Then my mind turns towards anger, hate, and spite as I saw her tears, and looked up at the sky.

See what you have done, dummy? How could you do what you said now? How can you protect me when you are no longer here? How can you guide me & watch over me, now? Did you think about any of that before you went out to die? Did you think about us when you left our side? You could have let someone else take your place? You didn't have to come this far, but you wanted to prove your bravery …do you think any of us care about that now?

I felt them hot on my cheek. I thought that I was done crying, but it would seem that in truth … I really have never stopped.

I probably would have stood there just crying my eyes out …if he never had arrived. The one whom looked upon the situation with eyes clear of pain and grief, and whom now stood before us as the new fire lord. It wasn't that he didn't have his own grief, but for the moment his people's plight was much more important, and with the war won ...that didn't mean that our work was yet done. We couldn't continue to stand around and cry …even as we ignore his words as others around us seem to rise to the challenge.

Just a few seconds more … we still needed to say our goodbyes … as I went back to my brother's side and rub a hand against his face. A smile and a tear was all that I had left to give him … as I turned to the others and with a strong stance told the all that they needed to know.

The time for tears were done …we would have to continue this later for there was those whom needed to be heal, those whom were trap within their home, and those whom simply needed to have their spirits lifted by the sight of the one whom save us all. Our job wasn't done yet, and I knew he wouldn't want to stand in the way of that. Though he probably would have made a sarcastic remark about us leaving him the way that he was know, and as I thought about that …it would seem that she had beat me to the punch. A flip of her hand, and he was placed in a coffin of rock …it wasn't the way that he would be put to rest, but for the moment …it would have to do … as we soon left him behind.

**Why …why did it have to end this way?**

((OCC, this was really OCC, but it hope it wasn't to the point that you couldn't figure out whom was the speaker in this one. I knew I added a lot of clues, but I wonder …if without them would you even know whom was talking? Geesh, I will try to keep it a little more incharacter for the next one.))


	3. Chapter 3

**Saying Goodbye is hard…**

She held me close …, and I couldn't run. I wanted so much to get away …to pretend that this had never happen, but she wouldn't let me run. Why didn't she let me run …running way was so much better than this, but it would seem that like with my fate …I couldn't escape it. I hated this. Once the work was done, and we had done our best to help those that could be helped …the time came. The time to say our goodbyes, and though … we all wanted this time to never come …we all knew it was only a matter of time as word spread across the land of our lost & those whom also wished to say goodbye headed our way. Now it was more tortures than if we had had the funeral in secret … as we all waited …knowing that it was only a matter of time, and yet, not wanting that time to come. If we didn't do this …if we never said goodbye maybe just maybe it wouldn't be real. He would come back to us …after getting lost on a hunt, or we would find him in the most embarrassing of predicaments, and everything would be okay. Everything would be as it was before today.

I closed my eyes …. as tears threaten to run down my face.

I never had to say it before ….I never had to say it before, but now …now as I stood alone on the beach I suddenly understood the gift that time had given me. I never had to feel this sort of pain, and to see the anguish and pain in their eyes. When I left …it was in the dead of night, and I never had to see their faces or hear their words of sadness. I wonder if this is what it's like for him right now … he doesn't have to hear our words …he doesn't see the tears on our faces, or know how much we wished that things have turned out differently. He is just gone from our world, from our lives, and from our side forever, and nothing we do can change this fact. Nothing, and with that thought …I could imagine the helplessness that they felt …, and I couldn't help wondering how long they must have searched for me before they finally gave up on me as being lost.

I wondered how many nights it took for their hearts to heal after that, or if it ever heal?

A light weight suddenly descends on my shoulder … as I knew without having to turn my head that Momo had come to comfort me. A hand went up … almost awkwardly to touch his head, and the little Lemur moved under my scratches. I had to wonder if he even knew that his friend was gone. That he would no longer ride on his shoulder, or take his place on his head. That the goofy time that they spent together was gone, and that they weren't coming back. A slight sad coo …let me know that I didn't need to guess. He recognized that he was gone, and he missed him just as much as me.

**I am sorry**

I felt it then, and I tried to hold it back …as the heat seemed to spread throughout my eyes, and slowly they leaked down my face.

**Why couldn't I stop this …why did it have to come at such a price …why did he have to pay it? **

I could see him …just a few minutes prior to all of this pain. He stood overlooking what was to be our final battle, and started to lay down his plans for how to handle it all. No longer would it seem was he seen as being an awkward or stupid kid, but by many …his prowess at strategy & planning was recognized at this point. There were men much older than him …that actually looked to him for ideas, and in a way …it seem that he had finally found a home. Not a bender, I imagine there was times when he felt weak in comparison to us, or in adequate, but times like this Sokka's worth became amazing clear. Yet, there was one big flaw in everyone's planning ….before the strike could begin, and to keep the number of causalities low …one of the major defensives of the Fire Lord's city had to be bypassed. There was only one way to do that though, someone had to sneak amongst the soldiers and release it from the inside.

This was when much debating started about whom would do such a dangerous task. There were no promises that anyone whom took on this mission would make it out alive, and though there were many whom offer to help including the new Fire Lord …it became clear that only someone quick of wit, and whom knew the plan inside and out would have any chances of success. This meant …that we had to let him go …that he was really the only choice as he gave us all a hug, and replies quite slyly to me.

"It will be alright."

I never understood why he said that to me. Did he know that he wouldn't return? Was he prepared to die? I don't know, and now I would never know … as I suddenly felt sick to my stomach at all this reminiscing. I couldn't bring him back by remembering his final moments with us, and all it did was churn in my stomach my deep regret. How I had failed everyone that I loved, and how I couldn't even manage with all my powers to keep those whom now stood at my side safe. One would think I understood my weakness when my best friend … was taken from me, but yet, inside ….I still believed that I could protect them all.

I really am a fool.

I really am a fool.

The tears flow freely now … as my knees felt like slush, and I went down …pulling my knees quickly to my chest as I folded my arms around them. I tried to hide my face … as I cried …they didn't need to find me like this …I was supposed to be so much stronger than this. Momo, whom was unsettled from his place on my shoulder by the sudden movement now rested at my side cooing with alarm. He didn't like seeing my cry, but at this moment …I couldn't help it …in a few moments …I would be call upon to do the hardest thing in my life.

**It's so hard to say goodbye ….**


End file.
